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Hiring A Personal Injury Lawyer In Toronto

Choosing a personal injury lawyer in Toronto can be a
daunting task, especially if you are suffering from a serious injury. Finding a
lawyer that is committed to fighting for your best interests is not easy. Often,
people refer to the recommendations of friends or family when hiring a good
lawyer, otherwise, the process may require a number of interviews before
finding a lawyer that you feel comfortable with and confident in. Besides, this
is the person responsible for ensuring that you receive compensation for your
injury and the loss of your capacity to earn an income. Hiring a lawyer can
take much of the stress and burden of paperwork or dealing with insurance
companies off of the plaintiff’s hands, allowing them to focus on improving
their quality of life and recovering from their injury.

Lawyers Mean Business

Insurance companies generally have a goal of settling for
the lowest conceivable fair amount that they negotiate based on the nature of
the claim. Sometimes this may mean not paying out the claim at all. The
information you provide your insurance adjuster will be filed under your claim
and may be used against you when building a case against your settlement. Though victims are entitled to represent
themselves by law, most people are not well versed in both tort and insurance
laws. Dealing with personal injury claims requires an extensive knowledge of
fields of law. Hiring a lawyer shows that you are serious about reaching a
settlement for its maximum value and prepared to go to court in order to do so.
The presence of a good lawyer presents a significant threat to insurance
companies who are unwilling to settle for any reasonable amount of money.

How Your Actions Can
Affect Your Damages Award

There are different ways that your actions
can affect the amount of compensation you receive as a damage reward. Two
of the different types of negligence that can affect your damages award are
contributory negligence and the failure to mitigate damages after the accident
has occurred. Contributory negligence factors in the injured person’s role in
causing or contributing to the accident.
In Ontario, contributory negligence can reduce the claim to damages
whereby the plaintiff failed to take responsible care for his/her own safety,
or their own negligence contributed to the cause of the accident/injury. In
such events, the plaintiff’s ability to recover the full loss of their claim
may be correspondingly affected. Failing
to wear a seat belt or helmet or being impaired by alcohol or drugs may lead to
contributory negligence unless it can be proven that this would not have
prevented or reduced the likelihood of injury.

The failure to mitigate damages means that the plaintiff
does not do his or her part to minimize the physical or financial impact of the
damages incurred. For example, if a plaintiff fails to seek the proper medical
treatment after the accident has occurred or refuses job retraining when it is
not unreasonable to do so, the damages awarded may be significantly reduced.
Seeking medical treatment is perhaps the most important step in pursuing a
personal injury claim, as it provides undeniable proof and accompanying
documentation of the nature and extent of your injury.

It is important to understand how your actions
(or inaction) can affect the amount of your personal injury claim. When
searching for a personal injury lawyer in Toronto, you should seek out someone
who understands the nuances of both tort and insurance law. Most importantly,
the victim should seek out a person who they are confident will fight for their
best interests and maximize the fair value of their compensation. The
representation of a lawyer shows that you are serious about receiving a settlement
that is both timely and fair. Hire a lawyer today and focus on your recovery
rather than the events surrounding your injury.